October 16, 2012

Give Peace Prize to Maggie, Not Eurocrats

The last time I looked, there were about seven billion people on this planet. There are all sorts of candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. Across the developing world, you will find gaunt and patient aid workers who have consecrated their lives to ending tribal conflicts. There are bone-nosed eco-warriors who are fighting to save the peoples of the rainforest from destruction. There are women who are struggling for female emancipation in Saudi Arabia. In tyrannies from Uzbekistan to North Korea, there are journalists risking their lives so the truth can be heard. There are good people battling every scourge, from famine to gun-running to piracy to human trafficking.

Boris Johnson was at the Tory conference yesterday for one purpose only — the exaltation of himself. This does not much matter when he is only Mayor of London, but would make him a wretched prime minister. He is not a man... more ››

A couple of weeks ago, I had a drink with one of Boris Johnson’s classics tutors at Oxford University, and asked him about his pupil’s chances of making it to Downing Street. “Capax imperii nisi imperasset...” he... more ››